The Essay of Analysis

AP English Composition and Language

What is analysis (for the AP exam)?

• Take apart a particular passage• Divide it into its basic components• Examine how the writer develops his or

her subject• For the AP Language exam the different

types of analysis include:– Analysis of structure– Analysis of purpose– Analysis of style

What is rhetoric?• An umbrella term for all of the strategies,

modes and devices a writer can employ in discourse to allow the reader to easily accept and understand his or her point of view

• Modes of Discourse – prose can be divided into four primary categories:– Exposition – illustrates a point– Narration – tells a story– Description – creates a sensory image– Argumentation – takes a position on an

issue and defends it

What are rhetorical strategies?

• The basic approaches a writer uses to create a successful mode of discourse:– Contrast/comparison– Example– Definition– Connotation– Antithesis– Oxymoron– And about 200 more…

What is the analysis of rhetorical structure?

• Your job is to:– Carefully read the passage– Recognize and identify strategies used

in the passage– Determine how these strategies are

utilized in the development of the author’s purpose

Rhetorical Strategy:example

Definition: Example is a specific event, person, or detail of an idea cited and/or developed to support or illustrate a thesis or topic.

The excerpt from Jane Jacob’s A good Neighborhood” uses examples. Read it carefully and then we’ll analyze it.

1. Underline the thesis statement.2. The topic/subject of the passage is:3. The purpose of the passage is to: __inform

__persuade __entertain4. Does the passage contain an extended

example?5. The passage contains how many examples?6. Briefly list the examples.7. The organization is __chronological ___spatial

___least to most important ___most to least important

Rhetorical Strategy:Contrast/Comparison

Definition: A method of presenting similarities and differences between or among at least two persons, places, things, ideas, etc. The contrast/comparison essay may be organized in several ways including:1. Subject by subject2. Point by point3. combination

The excerpt from W.H.Auden’s “Work, Labor, Play” uses contrast/comparison. Read it carefully and then we’ll analyze it.

1. The topic/subject of the passage is___2. Underline the thesis statement.3. The purpose of the passage is to: __inform

__persuade __entertain4. The items being compared/contrasted

are______5. One example of a comparison in the passage is

_____6. One example of contrast in the passage is ___7. The pattern of development is: __opposing

__alternating8. The organization is: __subject to subject __point

by point __combination

Rhetorical Strategy:Cause and Effect

Definition: Establishes a relationship: B is the result of A. The cause-and-effect essay can emphasize the cause, or the effect, or can treat both equally. It can detail a single cause with many effects, or several causes with a single effect, or any combination.

Strategies: facts, statistics, authorities, anecdotes, cases, real or imagined scenarios

Thomas Hobbes’s “Of the Natural Condition of Mankind” (1651). Read it carefully and then we’ll analyze it.

1. Underline the thesis statement.2. The topic/subject of the passage is ___.3. The purpose of the passage is to: __inform

__persuade __entertain4. List the causes: ____________________5. List the effects: _____________________6. The emphasis is on: __cause __effect __causes

__effects7. The passage makes use of: __statistics __facts

__authorities __anecdotes __cases __real/imaginary scenarios

Rhetorical Strategy:Classification

Definition: Separates items into major categories and details the characteristics of each group and why each member of that group is placed within the category. It is possible to divide the categories into subgroups.

The principle of classification should be made clear to the reader. (This is the umbrella term under which everything fits.)

Jane Howard’s “All Happy Clans Are Alike.” Read it carefully and then we’ll analyze it.

1. The topic/subject of the passage is ___.

2. Underline the thesis statement.

3. The purpose of the passage is to: __inform __persuade __entertain

4. Identify the principle of division/classification: ____________________

5. List the main subgroups: __________________

6. Cite the major characteristic(s) of each subgroup: __________________

Rhetorical Strategy:Process

Definition: “how to” do something or how something is done. Process can have one of two purposes. It can either give instructions or inform the reader about how something is done.

A clear process presentation must be in chronological order—step-by-step format.

It will define necessary terms and cite any precautions, if needed.

L. Rust Hills’s “How to Care for and About Ashtrays.” Read it carefully and then we’ll analyze it.

1. Underline the thesis statement. 2. The topic/subject of the passage is ___.3. The purpose of the passage is to: __give

specific directions __be informative4. List major steps given in the selection:___5. Is it in chronological order? __yes __no6. List any words that are defined: _____7. Were there any other words that should have

been defined? ________8. List any precautions given: ______9. The process presented is __clear __unclear

__complete __incomplete

Rhetorical Strategy:Definition

Definition: Identifies the class to which a specific term belongs and those characteristics which make it different from all other items in that class.

There are several types of definition: physical, historical, emotional, psychological, and relationship(s) to others

An essay of definition can be developed using any rhetorical strategy and the writer must decide to be serious or humorous.

Bugdust. Read it carefully and then we’ll analyze it.

1. Underline the thesis statement. 2. The topic/subject of the passage is ___.3. The purpose of the passage is to: __inform

__persuade __entertain4. The attitude of the writer is: __serious __humorous5. To what class does the word being defined belong?

___6. List the major rhetorical strategies used:__7. The definition is: __historical __physical __emotional

__psychological __relationship(s) to others8. Do you, as a reader, have an understanding of the

definition presented? _____9. Briefly state your understanding of the term: ______

Rhetorical Strategy:Narration

Definition: Storytelling. There is a beginning, a middle, and an end.

There’s a point to it—a reason for recounting the story that becomes clear to the reader.

There is a focus to the story as well. Your point might be that lying gets you into trouble. To illustrate this, you focus on an anecdote about the repercussions of a specific lie you told.

Narration requires a specific point of view: 1st person, 3rd person omniscient, 3rd person objective, stream of consciousness

Louisa May Alcott “Death of a Soldier.” Read it carefully and then we’ll analyze it.

1. The topic/subject of the passage is ___.2. The purpose of the passage is to: __inform

__persuade __entertain3. The focus is: _________________4. The point of view is: __1st person __3rd person

objective __3rd person omniscient __streat of consciousness

5. The setting is: ________________6. The main character(s) is/are: ______________7. The gist of the plot is: __________________8. List the sequence of the major events

(beginning, middle, end)

Rhetorical Strategy:Description

Definition: Writing that appeals to the sensesIt can be objective, which is scientific or

clinicalIt can be impressionistic, which tries to

involve the reader’s emotions or feelingsIt can be direct or indirect The organization can be: chronological,

spatial, emphasizing the most important detail, or emphasizing the most noticeable detail

Rhetorical Strategy:Description – Page 2

To create his or her description, the writer can employ any or all of the following literary devices:

AnalogyConcrete, specific wordsAppeal to the sensesPersonificationHyperboleContrast and ComparisonOnomatopoeiaOther figurative language (scads of these)

Charles Dickens, excerpt from Bleak House. Read it carefully and then we’ll analyze it.

1. Underline the thesis.2. The topic/subject of the passage is: ____3. The description is: __objective

__impressionistic4. The passage contains examples of:

1. Analogy, ex. ___2. Concrete words, ex. ___3. Imagery, ex. __4. Contrast/comparison, ex. ___ (Differences/Alike)5. Personification, ex. ___6. Onomatopoeia, ex. ___7. Other figurative language, ex. ___

5. The intended effect is to __inform __persuade __entertain

What is style?

What is the difference between the comedy on The Simpsons and Family Guy?

Subject matter

Language (diction)

Pacing

Selection of detail

Presentation—body of language

Attitude toward material

Attitude toward audience

Those elements are what is called style. Given two literary passages, you could probably

tell which was written by Hawthorne and which by Twain. How would you know?

You would use the same principles you considered with the two television shows.

1. Subject matter

2. Selection of detail

3. Point of view

4. Diction

5. Figurative language/imagery

6. Attitude

7. Tone

8. Pacing/syntax

9. Organization

How do you write about style?

Understand and refer to some basic writing terms and devices:Subject matterSelection of detailOrganizationPoint of viewDictionSyntaxLanguageAttitudeTone

A brief review of those terms:

Subject Matter and Selection of Detail:1. Each author CHOOSES consciously about

the topic/subject she or he will write.2. Sometimes writers become associated with a

particular type of subject matter. (Stephen King-horror and suspense, Mario Puzo-organized crime)

3. Example: If two students, one a vegan and one a meat-eater, were assigned to write about hamburgers each one would choose a different group of details to do the job.

A brief review of those terms:

Organization:1. The way in which a writer presents her or his

ideas to the reader2. Example: Think about your locker. How are your

books, jacket, lunch and other things arranged in it? If someone else were to open it, what conclusion would that person draw about you?

3. Some options for writers are: chronological, spatial, specific to general, general to specific, least to most important, most important to least, flashback or fast-forward, contrast/comparison, cause/effect

A brief review of those terms:

Point of View:1. The method an author utilizes to tell the story.• first person• third person objective• third person omniscient• stream of consciousness• chorus, stage manager, interior

monologue

A brief review of those terms:

Diction:1. Can also be called word choice2. The conscious selection of words to further the

author’s purpose.3. Example: How would you describe a date you

went on last weekend to your parents? To your peers? To your self?

4. A writer searches for the most appropriate, evocative or precise word or phrase to convey intent and meaning

A brief review of those terms:

Figurative Language and Imagery:1. The written creation of sensory experience achieved

through the use of figurative language2. Analogy3. Sensory description4. Poetic devices, including: metaphor, simile,

hyperbole, onomatopoeia, personification, oxymoron, alliteration, assonance, consonance, etc……

5. Look at Melville’s “Nantucket” – Find several different examples of figurative language used in the paragraph.

A brief review of those terms:

Syntax:1. Grammar—the function of words and their uses

and relationship in a sentence2. Syntax is the grammatical structure of sentences.

Without it, there is no clear communication.3. Not grammatical correctness, but rather the

deliberate sentence structure the author chooses to make her or his point.

Phrases, clauses, basic sentence types (declarative, interrogative, imperative, exclamatory), simple sentences, compound sentences, complex sentences, compound-complex sentences

A brief review of those terms:

Tone and Attitude:1. Both terms refer to the author’s perception and

presentation of the material and the audience.2. Tone reinforces the mood of a piece.3. An author’s attitude is not just the creation of a

mood. It represents the stance or relationship the author has toward his or her subject.

4. You may have to “read between the line” to identify attitude.